The invention relates to a motor vehicle door lock, comprising a locking mechanism and an electric drive for electric opening of the locking mechanism.
A motor vehicle door lock based on the described design is, for instance, disclosed in WO 02/31298 A1 of the applicant. This prior art embodiment not only allows electric opening of the locking mechanism but also provides a mechanical connection between an actuating lever and the locking mechanism for emergency opening of the locking mechanism. In this context this is also referred to as so-called temporary crash redundancy (TCR). This means that also in a so-called emergency operation or an emergency opening, such as in case of a crash, it is ensured that the locking mechanism can be opened, i.e. with the aid of the actuating lever.
Electric opening of a locking mechanism by means of the electric drive is generally accomplished in such a way that an operator activates, for instance, an external door handle or also an internal door handle. This regularly results in an actuation of a switch, interpreted as an opening request and causing the electric drive to be energized for electric opening of the locking mechanism. In order to, already at this point, prevent incorrect energizing from the outset, blocking elements are increasingly often used in practical application. The electric drive is mechanically secured with the aid of such a blocking element. In order to initiate electric opening of the locking mechanism, the external or internal door handle does, in the example, not only ensure that a switch is activated. Instead, this procedure also corresponds to the blocking element releasing the electric drive so that it can act on the locking mechanism to open it. Although this has generally proven to be successful, mechanically complex solutions are often used at this point.